UK container ports we collect from
We collect containers from six UK ports and deliver them across Great Britain. Each port runs its own booking rules, and each has its own page on how we work them.
- Ports
- 6 UK container ports
- Own vehicles
- 40, on operator licence OF2023521
- Containers a year
- 13,000+
Six ports, one way of working
Most of a container collection is not the driving. It is getting a box released, booked and through a gate on a system the port runs to its own rules, then delivered before the shipping line’s free time runs out. Every port on this page does that differently.
Felixstowe is our home port: the yard at Woolpit is about 35 miles from the gate, and more of our containers come through it than any other port. London Gateway, Tilbury and Purfleet are worked as one set of Thames runs. Southampton covers the south coast and Liverpool the North West.
The constant is the method. We book against the release and your free time, we tell you early when a slot is at risk, and every box carries the same freight liability cover, on our own vehicles or a partner’s.
On each port page
- What we move from that port
- How its booking system is handled
- The lanes we run most from it
- Why merchant haulage pays on that lane
- The licences and cover behind the collection
- The questions forwarders ask about it
Choose your port
Each page is written for the forwarder or importer with a box at that port this week.
Felixstowe
Our home port. The yard at Woolpit is about 35 miles from the gate.
20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, overweight
Container haulage from FelixstoweLondon Gateway
Deep-water Thames terminal, planned alongside Tilbury and Purfleet.
20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, overweight
Container haulage from London GatewayTilbury
Port of London container work, on the same Thames runs.
20ft, 40ft, high cube, overweight
Container haulage from TilburyPurfleet
Thames terminal collections, planned with London Gateway and Tilbury.
20ft, 40ft, high cube
Container haulage from PurfleetSouthampton
South coast deep-sea boxes, delivered inland across the UK.
20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, overweight
Container haulage from SouthamptonLiverpool
North west collections, including the Liverpool2 deep-water berths.
20ft, 40ft, high cube, overweight
Container haulage from LiverpoolWho runs each port, and what books the collection
The operator decides the gate rules and the booking system decides the day. What we move from each port is the last column.
| Port | Operator | Booking system | What we move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felixstowe | Hutchison Ports | CBS, the Container Booking System | 20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, overweight |
| London Gateway | DP World | VBS, booked against the container | 20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, overweight |
| Tilbury | Forth Ports, at London Container Terminal | VBS, by app or browser | 20ft, 40ft, high cube, overweight |
| Purfleet | CLdN Ports London | Ro-ro terminal: CLdN pick-up notification and PIN | 20ft, 40ft, high cube |
| Southampton | DP World, on an ABP port | VBS, with a move to CARGOES VBS announced | 20ft, 40ft, high cube, reefer, overweight |
| Liverpool | Peel Ports | VBS appointments, in hourly slots | 20ft, 40ft, high cube, overweight |
Why the Thames three are planned together
London Gateway, Tilbury and Purfleet sit on the same stretch of the Thames, and the same vehicles cover all three. We plan them together, as one set of runs, rather than as three separate jobs.
They are still three terminals with three sets of rules. London Gateway books on DP World’s VBS, against the container. Tilbury’s London Container Terminal runs its own VBS, by app or browser. Purfleet is a ro-ro terminal run by CLdN, where collection runs against CLdN’s pick-up notification and PIN code. Planning the three together puts your Thames boxes in one plan, against all three sets of rules, instead of in three queues.
For a forwarder who splits work across the Thames, that is the practical point: one haulier, one number to call and one view of every box, whichever terminal it landed at.
How a port’s booking system shapes your collection
The names differ from port to port. The rules underneath are much the same, and every one of them lands on your delivery date.
- Release comes first
- A box the line has not released, or customs has not cleared, does not leave the terminal, whatever the booking says. We check both before a slot is booked against it.
- Slots are rationed
- Felixstowe allocates bookings by the hour. Liverpool sizes each haulier’s allowance from its registration and reviews it every quarter. On a busy day the question is not whether a truck is free but whether a slot is.
- Peak hours cost more
- Southampton charges for weekday bookings from 04.00 to 07.00 and 12.00 to 18.00, and treats weekends as off-peak. Liverpool charges for working-day slots from 05.00 to 08.00 and 13.00 to 16.00, and prices some weekend hours on application. On a weekday, a slot outside those hours costs nothing at either port.
- Late changes cost money
- At Felixstowe, import bookings enter a Late Notification Period 12 hours before the slot, and changes inside it can be charged. At Liverpool an appointment left to expire is charged as a no-show. Booking once and booking right is cheaper than rebooking.
- Container or truck
- London Gateway’s VBS books against the container. Liverpool books an appointment for the vehicle, and so does Southampton until its announced move to CARGOES VBS, the London Gateway system. Either way, the container details and the truck details both have to be right.
- The driver carries the terminal’s pass
- DP World Southampton requires its own Driver ID card and an annual Terminal Awareness Course. Liverpool issues a Truck Card that carries the AutoGate and security passes. That is the haulier’s job to hold, not yours.
Port collections, answered
Which UK ports do you collect containers from?
Six: Felixstowe, London Gateway, Tilbury, Purfleet, Southampton and Liverpool. Felixstowe is our home port, and the yard at Woolpit is about 35 miles from the gate.
London Gateway, Tilbury and Purfleet are planned together as one set of Thames runs, with the same vehicles covering all three.
Who books the slot at the port, you or us?
We do, on whichever system the port runs: CBS at Felixstowe, VBS at London Gateway, Tilbury, Southampton and Liverpool, and the terminal’s release process at Purfleet. What we need from you is the container number, the shipping line and confirmation that the box is released and customs cleared.
Can you collect from more than one port for the same customer?
Yes, and it is the usual case. A forwarder with boxes at Felixstowe and London Gateway in the same week deals with one haulier and one number to call, and the Thames three are already planned as one.
How much does a port collection cost?
It depends on the port, the delivery postcode, the container and the date. Send those and we price it the same working day. If the box is overweight or refrigerated, say so at quote stage, because each changes the vehicle. If it is hazardous, send the UN number and class and we confirm whether we can take it before we quote.
What cover applies to a container collected from a port?
Freight liability at £6,500 per tonne under RHA 2024 conditions, five times the RHA standard of £1,300, whichever port the box comes from. Loads we subcontract carry the same limit. Higher limits up to £10,000 per tonne are available by arrangement for high value freight.
Collecting from a UK port this week?
Send the port, the container, the delivery postcode and the date. We price it the same working day and tell you straight if a booking is tight.